I will now be offerring homemade baked goods for sale in the shop!

Click here for the listing for lemon poppyseed bread.

Stay tuned for something new coming to the shop and blog in the new year!

Coffee cake for a work holiday party.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Well, the holiday season is upon us at last (she says three weeks into it).  Despite my lack of posting, I have indeed been cooking, baking, and decorating.  The week of Thanksgiving I hosted my annual Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving at my apartment.  Fifteen friends showed up, brought food and drinks, and we feasted spread out on my living room floor.  I made two corn souffles, two kinds of stuffing, corn bread, and gravy.

After that, I ushered in the Christmas season very slowly.  It is very unlike me to be this disinterested in Christmastime, but I only started baking and decorating this past Sunday.  The first order of baking business(I'll get to the decorating in a subsequent post) was to make a batch of caramel shortbread bars, cinnamon applesauce ornaments, and another round of peppermint sugar cookies.  I somehow managed to make all of these at the same time.

I picked up a jug of applesauce and several containers of cinnamon at the local Dollar Tree and decided to make scented ornaments for the tree like when I was a little girl.  I couldn't seem to make a clay-like consistency, so mine are a little misshapen.  I tried.  Towards the end, I just started making circles with holes in them because the cinnamon was burning my hands.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup of applesauce
• 1 1/2 cup of cinnamon

1. Mix ingredients together until it forms a clay-like consistency.
2. Roll dough out flat and use cookie cutters to make shapes.
3. If using as ornaments to hang, use a pencil or toothpick to make a hole.
4. Leave out to dry for 3 or 4 days.

peppermint sugar cookies

I am alive and full of cookies.  I started right away on my cookie baking once I returned to my apartment after Thanksgiving.  This was the first round.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 c. all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. crushed candy canes or peppermint candies
• 5 tsp. warm water
• 3/4 c. confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add egg and beat until blended. Stir in flour and salt, then the crushed candy.  Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies 8 to 10 minutes until firm. Cool on sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. 

Picture from We Are Not Martha

 

quick turkey gravy

 

Directions:

1. Add water.
2. Stir on stove.

roasted potatoes

I've always really loved potatoes, but for some reason I have always been really underwhelmed by roasting them.  They were never flavorful enough, or too mushy, or there wasn't enough cheese.  However, potatoes are relatively inexpensive and I thought that I would try a roasted potato recipe to go along with my slow-cooked pork loin from the entry below.  I was really determined to have a wholesome home-cooked meal.  I was also incredibly hungry, so I didn't take any photos.  The picture below is an extremely accurate representation of what my potatoes looked like before roasting.

Image from Lovin' From the Oven

One of the great things about cooking for myself is that I am completely in charge of how I prepare my food.  Sure, this is kind of a drawback sometimes like when I turn pancakes into burnt pucks or perhaps burn myself with flying grease but I'm feeling optimistic today.  So, you know what?  I don't like my potatoes mushy: cook them longer.  I don't like them bland: add more garlic and salt.  I got my love of cheese from my Dad: add more cheese.  Always add more cheese.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Adapted from: Lovin' From the Oven


Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes, rinsed and diced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 4-6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 2-3 tsp shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour the potatoes into a baking dish.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle the rest of the seasonings on top. Use a large spoon to evenly coat all of the potatoes.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to move the pieces around every 15 minutes.

slow cooker pork loin

I am scared of both my slow cooker and large/expensive cuts of meat that I've never used before.  I was recently introduced to a chain of grocery stores (Market Basket) that I had previously avoided due to local horror stories and one ill-fated trip that ended up with me sewing my vagina shut and vowing (again) never to have children or to go anywhere where children are permitted to be present.  I was going to say "I don't know how you parents do it" but if my trip to the Somerville Market Basket is any indication, "do it" means "let your children roam free and screaming through a busy grocery store."  Also, I hate you.

But I digress.  I went to the Burlington Market Basket late one night and was escorted through the bakery section, eyes lit-up.  That there was enough to convince me to change my grocery store allegiance from Stop & Shop.  Imagine my delight when I found my long-lost favorite cereal just hanging out on the shelves waiting to be purchased.  Here, I will help you out so that you don't need to imagine: I immediately grabbed two boxes, clutched them to my chest, grabbed the arm of the person I was with, and possibly yelled "I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!"

Uh... but I digress again.  The moral of the story is that prices are very low here and it's worth the 15 minute drive versus the 5 minute walk to Stop & Shop.  I've been doing my weekly shopping here and recently purchased a five and a half pound pork loin on a whim.  $12 seemed like a very reasonable price for so much meat.  I often ignore the fact that I live alone when I grocery shop and go hog wild (ha ha) on things that are on sale.  I was smart this time and sawed that baby in two and froze half of it when I got home.

I decided to use my slow cooker that I got for Christmas last year (and have only used once, mostly out of fear) so I looked up a recipe.  I have modified the recipe for future cooking, as it didn't really come out perfect.  Also, there aren't too many pictures because meat is kind of gross looking.

Slow Cooker Pork Loin
Adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients:

• 2.5lb pork loin, not trimmed
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 3/4c red wine (I used pinot noir because that's all I had)
• 3tbsp minced garlic
• pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Put everything in the slow cooker.  Place the meat in fatty side up.
2. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
3. Check after 3 hours.  If pork has reached 145 degrees, you may take out.  If not, cook until it has reached 145.

vanilla cinnamon circles

I have started using baked goods as a way to bribe people at work into getting things done.  I promised that I would bring in something today if all requirements were met by the end of the day on Friday.  The promise of food seems to kick people into action, and I poked through my cookbooks to find something to bring in.  I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks that had minimal ingredients, most of which I had already.  Vanilla cinnamon circles seemed simple and tasty.  All I needed to buy was unsalted butter.

Sometimes things do not go as planned.  I had a feeling that something would go wrong with these cookies.  The recipe just seemed too simple.  Too easy.  I purchased a 79cent bag of brownie mix as a backup just in case something happened.

I doubled the recipe because the dough only made 25 cookies.  Maybe that was my mistake?  Once I mixed up the dough, I could tell right away that something was going to be wrong about these cookies.  I continued to follow the directions to the best of my abilities, with the dough crumbling apart as I was trying to roll it into a ball.  I shoved it in the oven and hoped for the best.

I ended up not with 25 cookies, but with a cookie sheet sized crunchy mess.  My apartment smelled delicious, though.

And delicious brownies were had by all at work.

Vanilla Cinnamon Circles
adapted from: Indulgence: Cookies

• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 c superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c flour
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp sugar (extra)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a medium-sized bowl using electric beaters until pale and fluffy, then stir in vanilla.  Sift in the flour and add the milk.  Stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough, gather into a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Press the dough out into a log shape, 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inches thick.  Roll in the paper and twist the ends to seal.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.
4. Cut the log into rounds 1/2 inch thick.  Sift the extra sugar and cinnamon onto a plate and roll each cookie in the sugar mixture, coating well.  Lay well apart on the sheets and bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Let's pretend they looked like this:

toffee cakes

With my extra day off this weekend, I decided to do some baking.  As I've already starting checking out Christmas craft/cookbooks from the library to find tasty recipes, I'm starting to amass more than I will realistically be able to bake between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  To avoid the Christmas cookie sweatshop that was my last Christmas season, I've started my baking now.  I've been bringing the extras to work with me to share with my coworkers (yes, I could eat 45 cookies but I probably shouldn't).  These didn't get me any rave email replies, but I thought they were pretty tasty.

Toffee Cakes
from: Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Comfort & Joy






Ingredients

•3/4 c butter

•1/3 c sugar

•1 tbsp milk

•2 tsp vanilla

•2 3/4 c flour

•1/2 c chocolate covered toffee pieces

For Chocolate Drizzle:

•  1/2 c chocolate chips

•  2 tsp butter

Directions

1. Beat butter and sugar together.  Add milk & vanilla, continue to beat.  Add flour slowly.  Stir in toffee pieces and mi dough with hands until flour blends.

2. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 325.  Shape dough into 1” balls.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned.

4. Combine chocolate & butter in a saucepan to melt.  Drizzle over cookies.

I attempted to drizzle chocolate over mine, but I ended up wasting almost an entire bag of chocolate chips on the endeavor.  Apparently if there is any moisture in your saucepan, your chocolate will seize up and turn into chocolate frosting.  Make sure you don't do that. 

friday finds

I spend a lot of time cruising the internet.  I thought I would try something new on Fridays and feature an interesting good, shop, or link that I've found since, I'm not going to lie, I don't make or bake things as often as I would like to keep the blog going with new content.

So this week, I'd like to feature Daydreeem Designs on Etsy.  The store is filled with beautiful hand-etched glass items.  Michael does a lot of work with natural designs like tree limbs, feathers, and snow.  I'm particularly drawn to these two styles of votive holders: